Mirror Images
by KasadyaAlyce
Summary: What happens when two people fall in love and their jobs are caught in the crossfire? Annabel Kenner is like nothing Spencer Reid has ever seen. With an IQ higher than his own, he can't help but be in awe of her.
1. Chapter 1

_**Ok, guys. First attempt at a fanfic, so bear with me. I just really liked the idea of giving Spencer someone he could relate to. I might have gotten a few of the fact mixed up, so if I have, just let me know and I'll correct them. I am not an experienced writer, so any and all suggestions are deeply appreciated.**_

They were here. Annabel could barely contain her excitement as she pulled into the St. Clair County Police Department. She hopped out of her car, walking past the line of black SUVs in the parking lot. She had been studying the BAU team, and, although sorry for the reasoning, she was glad that she would finally get to meet them. She hurried into the police station, neatly dodging a head on collision with a blonde woman.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" The woman stopped, regaining her composure.

"Agent Jennifer Jerau." Annabel offered her hand.

Agent Jerau shook her hand, a puzzled look on her face. "Do I know you?" She looked over the girl. She couldn't have been any older than twenty four. She was quite pretty, with crimson curls falling around her face and a set of bright green eyes staring intently at her.

"No." Annabel shook her head. "My name is Annabel Kenner. I've studied your team. I know every single fact about you. The ones that are printed, anyway."

Agent Jerau's smile faltered. "O..K..?"

"I'm rambling again. People tell me that I tend to do that a lot, but I don't really know when to stop because I don't really realize that I do it. I guess I'll just have to take their word for it." Annabel shrugged, and Agent Jerau laughed.

"You remind me of someone I know." JJ shook her head smiling. "But I really have to go. Press conference."

Annabel nodded quickly and glanced around the station. Agent Aaron Hotchner was leaning over Sherriff Jasper Jones's desk with Agent Derek Morgan. Agents David Rossi and Emily Prentice were studying a blackboard across the room. Annabel approached the Sherriff's desk.

"Anything new, Jasper?" Her voice was eager.

"Annabel," The Sherriff glanced up at her approach. "I was wondering when you'd make your appearance today."

She smiled. "Here I am. Now… Have we got anything new?"

Jasper looked to Aaron. "This, Agent Hotchner, is my genius." He moved his gaze back to Annabel. "They found another body this morning. Arlene Hopkins." He handed her a stack of photos.

"She's sticking to her M.O. She usually keeps the victims a week before killing them, and a week after." Annabel spoke thoughtfully, picking up the crime scene photos and looking them over.

"You think the unsub is female?" Derek Morgan spoke up.

"Of course. Look here." She handed him a picture. It was a close-up shot of Arlene Hopkins's face. "Her make-up isn't smudged, and a man wouldn't have a steady enough hand to perfect the art of putting on eyeliner. She's done it the exact way Arlene used to wear her makeup, so she's had a lot of time to watch her victims, and maybe even some cosmetology training."

Derek glanced to Agent Hotchner and shrugged. Aaron held his hand out.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm-"

"SSA Aaron Hotchner." Annabel grinned. "Graduated from Harvard with honors, top of your class with a 4.0 average, majoring in criminal law and minoring in criminal justice." She turned to Derek. "And you're SSA Derek Morgan. Graduated from Seattle University with a 3.97 average, majoring in criminal studies. You were both at the top of your classes for FBI training, and you two have alternated the job of BAU section chief. It's an honor to meet you. My name is Annabel Kenner."

The two blinked, and Jasper laughed. "My genius blows your genius out of the water."

Annabel turned to face the Sherriff. "Don't say that, Jasper. I have the highest amount of respect for Dr. Reid. Regrettably, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him yet." She spoke thoughtfully and glanced around.

"Reid's at the dump site." David Rossi had been listening to the conversation from across the room.

"David Rossi." Annabel beamed. "I have read all of your books, and I'm a huge fan. It's an honor to meet you."

"Likewise." David smiled.

"Maybe after we catch the unsub you and I could get a chance to talk?" Annabel pressed. "I'm very interested in page 54 of your third book, paragraph six. The mindset that you talk about having in order to really submerge yourself into the minds of the darkest criminals without coming out of it with complete mental instability, it just fascinates me. I would love the chance to pick your brain."

Emily laughed. "If I remember correctly, that's the first sentence Reid ever spoke to him, word for word."

Annabel blinked. "So, when do we get moving? What's our first step?"

"Sherriff Jones will take you to the dump site. Maybe you and Reid can catch something the CSIs missed." Agent Hotchner spoke up.

Annabelle hopped out of the police car, following Jasper underneath the line of police tape.

"Dr. Reid." Sherriff Jones greeted him. "This is Annabel Kenner. She's my…" He looked for the right word. "Associate."

Annabel held her hand out, but Spencer was deep in thought. "I think the unsub might be…"

"Female." Annabel finished his thought, causing him to glance up at her for the first time. There was surprise in his features. "There's a lot of things that suggest it: The signs of remorse, the specific tortures that were carried out, and the lack of sexual motive. The thing that assured me that we're looking for a female, though, is the-"

"Way she prepares the body before dumping it." Spencer spoke slowly.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Dr. Reid." She smiled. This was the first time she had ever talked to someone with an IQ as high as hers. Spencer's IQ was 187. Annabel's was 189. She was eager to see what type of conversations they could have with each other. In truth, she had always been in awe of him.

"Annabel Kenner." Reid's eyes widened. "I remember reading something about you." A small smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. "This should be interesting,"

"I was just thinking the same thing." She smiled, holding out her hand.

"You are two years younger than me, and you have five PhDs." He spoke the words with reverence, shaking his head. "Are you interested in the bureau?"

"It's actually something I wanted to pick your brain about." Annabel nodded, then shook her head as Sherriff Jones cleared his throat. "Maybe some other time, though."

"Of course." Reid knelt down, inspecting the body that was lying in front of him. "Ligature marks on the wrists and ankles." The Sherriff walked away from the two of them.

"She was restrained." Annabel crossed her arms over her chest, the furrowed her brow, leaning in for a closer look. "But there's no sign that she was gagged. It makes sense, with an M.O. this vicious, that she would want to hear her victims scream."

"She would have to have someplace isolated. Somewhere she could carry out such brutal torture without the threat of anyone hearing." Spencer looked over the papers in his hand. "The cause of death in each victim is water in the lungs."

"They were drowned… But there are no signs of water wear on the body." She spoke the words pensively. "What other damage was done to the previous victims?"

"Several burns and scars all along the body, the scars made with a serrated instrument, the burns made my something perfectly round with a spiral pattern on the end. Maybe a branding rod?" Spencer glanced over the papers again. "Minor esophageal tearing, cracked ribs, and injuries most commonly related to chest compressions."

"Cardiopulmonary resuscitation." Annabel glanced to Spencer.

"CPR?" He looked confused. "Why would she use CPR if her M.O. is drowning?"

"Remorse?" Annabel thought for a moment, then sighed.

"That would fit." Reid sat back on his heels. "Warring with herself over what's right and wrong. Kill her, then save her, just to end up killing her again."

"We might be dealing with an acute schizophrenic." Annabel blinked, thinking over everything she knew about schizophrenia. The thought worried her. How were they going to be able to stop a woman with a severe psychiatric disorder with symptoms of emotional instability, detachment from reality, and withdrawal into herself?

"Or multiple personalities." Spencer sighed.

"I thought that multiple personality disorder had been disproved?" Annabel watched as he stood up.

"It's a theory." Reid shook his head. "But I've seen more than enough cases to believe that it's an actual sickness. In one case in Los Angeles, this boy, Adam's father had severely beaten and raped him when he was a child. To deal with the abuse, his mind split and created a woman named Amanda. Adam was anxious all the time, but when Amanda surfaced, she would jump at the chance to stare me down. She went on a killing spree that lead up to the attack of Adam's father. Luckily, we got there in time to save him, but Adam was gone." Spencer sighed. "I still visit Amanda every chance I get, trying to get her to finally do the right thing and let Adam go." He shook his head. "That was three years ago."

Annabel nodded. "I studied that case." She paused. "Along with others." She kept her gaze from his. Tobias Hankel was one subject she had been anxious to talk to Dr. Reid about, but she didn't want to push his comfort level.

He simply nodded in reply. "I think we might be ready for a profile."

Annabel grinned. "I can't wait to see your team in action. I've studied you all for such a long time."

"So, you're looking into the bureau?" He had already asked the question, but now was a more appropriate time to discuss the topic.

She began to walk to the Sherriff's car, and he followed along beside her. "Yes. I was wondering how the job affects you..?" She spoke slowly. "I want to help people, Dr. Reid, but I could just as easily be a surgeon. I'm severely interested in profiling, though. It's my first choice. So, I got to thinking: _How does this line of work affect people like me? _And then, it occurred to me that you're the only person who can answer that question."

"It's not easy." He admitted. "The thing you have to realize is this: As difficult as it may be to see the things that I've seen, to hear the things that I have been told, and to suffer the torture that has been done to me, I can go to sleep every night knowing that, just by experiencing those horrible things, I have made sure that no one else has to go through that. Until the next case, that is."

"So… What you're saying is that no matter how difficult the things you have to go through, it's worth it in the end because that's one life saved." Annabel stated, climbing into the police car.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Spencer climbed in beside her and turned to face her. "Anything else you'd like to know?"

"Well, my only concern about the BAU is that…" Annabel paused, trying to think of a careful way to say this. "You're at the BAU, Dr. Reid. I mean… You're Spencer Reid." She tried to stress the situation to him. "What's the point in the BAU getting a new genius when the old one is so brilliantly good at his job?"

"The more geniuses, the better." Reid tried to hold back his smile, but failed. "Your regard of me is kind of preposterous, by the way. Your IQ is two points higher than mine, and you have two more PhDs than I do."

Annabel rolled her eyes as Jasper began to drive. "It doesn't matter how much higher my IQ is than yours, or how many degrees I have. The fact of the matter is that I would be…" She paused, choosing her words carefully. "Intimidated working alongside The Great Spencer Reid."

He looked her over. She had long red hair that hung in curls around her face, and shocking green eyes. He felt the blood rush into his cheeks, so he suddenly moved to look out the window. "As I said, preposterous." His voice was low, but she heard his words nonetheless.


	2. Chapter 2

**Let me start by thanking any and all readers. I love you guys! (:**

**This chapter isn't as long as the last one... but it's a necessary part of the building of the story. Don't worry, my romance seekers, the love WILL blossom, but right now, the initial plot is the focus. **

**Once again, this is my first fanfic, and any and all suggestions and reviews are welcome.**

"The unsub we're looking for is a female between the ages of twenty five and thirty." Spencer was the only person standing in front of the station. The rest of the agents were in the back of the room, watching him closely. It was his first solo profile, not that he could take any credit. Annabel had been a key part of this profile. He looked to her. She was sitting on the edge of Sherriff Jones's desk. "Ligature marks on the wrists and ankles suggests that the victims were restrained. There are several burns and scars all along the body, the scars made with a serrated instrument, the burns made my something perfectly round with a spiral pattern on the end. There was minor esophageal tearing, cracked ribs, and injuries most commonly related to CPR."

"Why would she use CPR on her victims if the intent is to kill them?" An officer raised his hand.

"We believe she is an acute schizophrenic, therefore she is warring with herself over what's right and wrong. Kill a victim, then save her, just to end up killing her again." Spencer stated. "She more than likely has a mediocre job where she wouldn't have to be noticed. There's been a stressor in her life recently that has caused her to break that small fissure between her reality and what's really going on around her."

The officers stood, filing out of the room. Agent Hotchner approached Reid, and Spencer immediately became nervous. "How was it? Did I leave anything out? I think I got all of my bases covered."

"Very good." There was a hint of a smile on Aaron's lips, and it filled Spencer with pride. The phone ringing in the distance caught his attention.

"St. Clair County Police Department." Annabel answered the phone.

"Annabel?" The voice on the other end of the phone was anxious. "This is officer Katrina Jenkins."

"Yes, officer Jenkins. What can I do for you?" She was familiar with the woman, but she didn't know that the officer had jurisdiction outside the police station. Annabel thought that she was just a secretary of sorts.

"I'm on my way to work." The woman's voice was panicked. "Or… I was." Her voice was hesitant, shaken. "There's a body in the ditch."

"What?" The high pitch of Annabel's voice made the BAU agents turn toward her. She motioned for them to approach, and Reid and Morgan did. "Where are you?"

"I'm at the end of Morning Star Road, where it meets Highway 144."

Annabel wrote down the directions and handed the small writing pad to Agent Morgan and hung the phone up.

"What's this?" Reid looked over Morgan's shoulder to glanced at the pad.

"Another body." She sighed. "Katrina was on her way into work and she spotted it next to the stop sign."

""By a stop sign?" Spencer shook his head. "That's odd."

"I know." Annabel nodded. "The other victims were dumped at more isolated places. Why the sudden change?"

"You tell us." Derek spoke up. "You're interested in the BAU, right? Why do you think the unsub would change her M.O.?"

She paused, thinking for a moment. "She's getting bolder, exploring the thought of mocking us. She knows that the FBI is involved, and she wants us to know that. She needs us to feel like we're under more pressure than we were before she found out that you were here. This is a good sign, in the sense that her need to aggravate us could make her make a mistake, but it's also a bad sign because it means she will more than likely strike more quickly."

Agent Morgan nodded, then smiled lightly. "Impressive."

"Thank you." Annabel grinned, then sobered.

"Reid and I will go check the scene out. You stay here and monitor the tip line. If she's getting as cocky as we believe, she might just call in." Morgan stated, and she nodded.

"What's your impression on the girl?" Derek asked Spencer once they were outside. "Do you think she's got what it takes to be a profiler?"

"Her mind is brilliant." Reid nodded. "I'm not worried about her mental capability to do this job. Her IQ is two points higher than mine." There was a slight smile on his face. "The only conservation I have is how emotionally draining the bureau is."

"That's not our problem. She seems to be a fan of yours." Derek glanced to him, a small grin crossing his face.

Spencer could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks. "We both have eidetic memories and extremely high IQs. Not only that, but I am successful in a job that she has always dreamt of having. There are so many similarities, it's only natural for us to relate to each other because we've gone through basically the same things growing up. This is the first time, for me anyway, that I have had the chance to talk to someone like myself. What I'm saying is, it's all very fascinating. We're both kind of awestruck, but that doesn't mean..." He paused, refusing to glance up and look at Derek, who no doubt wore a rueful smirk. "Well, you know what I mean."

"She's not a bad looking woman, Reid." Morgan chuckled. "Too bad she's interested in the BAU. I'd like to see you actually date someone."

"Well, don't get your hopes up." Spencer shook his head again. "I don't even know what to say around her. She says that she's intimidated by me, but I'm the one who is truly flustered. I've never been in the same room as anyone who could legitimately say they are smarter than me. It's disheartening."

Morgan blinked, then turned to look at Reid again. "You should ask her out. She's not working for the bureau yet, and I've never really seen you so tense before, man. Take her out for a drink, then when she comes to work for the team, it won't be so hard on you."

Spencer groaned. "Let's please change the subject?"

"Fine." Derek's smile faded as they pulled into the crime scene.

Katrina Jenkins was sitting in her Ford Focus. She rolled the window down as the two approached, and when she spoke, her words were dazed.

"I just… Stopped my car." She shook her head.

"Did you see anything unusual?" Derek asked as Reid leaned over the body. It was practically identical to the other seven bodies they had already found.

"Nothing that I don't usually see on a morning like this." Katrina tossed a black curl over her shoulder.

"A morning like this?" Reid glanced up.

"Yes. Like this." She nodded, pulling the cigarette lighter from her car and lit a cigarette, then held the cooling lighter up to her nose as if she was smelling it. "Hectic, running late, in a hurry to get to the station so I can catch the FBI's profile." She managed a sheepish grin.

Reid furrowed his brow as he watched her. He shook his head and sighed. "Did you see any other vehicles that you usually don't see on this street?"

Katrina closed her eyes, thinking for a moment. "When she reopened her eyes, she shook her head. "No, I'm sorry I-" She paused, contemplation clouding her features. "Wait…" Her face lit up. "There was a bright red Trailblazer in front of me. I've never seen it before."

Derek immediately flipped his phone open.

"You've reached Penelope, the conqueror of keyboards and all things technological." Garcia's voice was it's normal chipper tone. "Speak and be heard."

"I need a list of all registered Trailblazers in the area. Bright red, the registration would be in a woman's name." Derek spoke quickly.

"I have fifteen." Garcia bit down on her lip. "Can you narrow it down?"

"Cross out any women that are married or in a stable relationship. With schizophrenia as severe as the unsub, there would be no chance she could be able to keep up a relationship. Also, cross reference for women with psychiatric records." Reid spoke up from across the street.

"Bingo." Garcia blinked. "Rachel Owens is a secretary at Hillside Elementary School. She's currently on phenothiazine and fluoxetine. I'm sending you the details now."

"Garcia, is there any sign of a stressor?" Derek asked.

"No…" Penelope glanced over her screens, then paused. "Wait. Social services took her two year old son about three months ago."

"That's when the murders started." Reid glanced to Katrina. "Go back to the station and pick up the rest of the agents. We are heading to the address now."


	3. Chapter 3

**_Ack! This chapter was the hardest to write so far. It's kind of long, an it includes graphic torture. BUT it is essential._**

**_THANK YOU to my readers and PLEASE feel free to review and leave suggestions. I'm sorry the updates have been kind of sporadic... Meh. I'M kind of sporadic._**

Annabel was waiting outside the station when Officer Jenkins pulled up. She climbed in. "Everyone else had a vehicle." She shrugged.

"Do you know where the rest of the FBI team is going?" Katrina attempted to make small talk as she turned her car around in the parking lot.

"Agent Prentiss is meeting Dr. Reid and Agent Morgan at Hillside Elementary." Annabel nodded. "Jasper, Agent Hotchner, Agent Rossi, and Agent Jerau are headed to Ms. Owens's apartment to check things out. Before he left, though, Agent Hotchner asked if you and I would go to Hillside in case Owens has a breakdown and they need backup."

Katrina nodded, and Annabel couldn't help but notice how her grip tightened on the steering wheel as she talked. Her knuckles turned white. Annabel took a moment and thought back. She had never been alone with Officer Jenkins before, and it dawned on her that she knew next to nothing about her. It was obvious, though, that Annabel's talking made her uncomfortable. This, however, was a reaction Annabel was used to. Ever the social outcast, Annabel had long since given up hope of finding anyone to willingly listen to her ramble. She watched as Katrina pulled out the cigarette lighter and pressed it against her nose. The lighter wasn't hot, so Officer Jenkins's skin was not burnt, but the action was definitely odd. A small smile crossed Katrina's face, and Annabel blinked.

"A cigarette lighter." She spoke loudly, causing Katrina to jump. The lighter fell from her hands and into the floorboard.

"What?" Officer Jenkins turned to face Annabel.

"A cigarette lighter from a car would cause a spiraled burn pattern." Annabel was nodding as she spoke enthusiastically. "Did you know that in the United States cigar lighters started appearing as standard equipment in automobiles as early as 1925? The modern "automatic" automotive V-Coil lighter was developed by Casco in 1956. In the reel-type lighters, the igniter unit was connected with a source of current by a cable which was wound on a spring drum so that the igniter unit and cable could be withdrawn from the socket and be used for lighting a cigar or cigarette. As the removable plug was returned to the socket, the wires were reeled back into it. The circuit was closed either by pressing a button or removing the igniter from its socket. In 1921, the Morris U.S. Patent 1,376,154 was issued for a so-called "wireless" or "cordless" lighter. This lighter eliminated the cables and the mechanism for winding and unwinding them. The igniter was heated in the socket then removed for use."

Katrina's grip tightened on the steering wheel again, and Annabel immediately silenced herself. What was wrong with her? She could usually keep a check on her word vomit. She pulled out her cell phone.

"What are you doing?" Katrina glanced nervously at Annabel.

"Calling Agent Hotchner." Annabel spoke slowly.

"Rachel Owens?" Reid, Morgan and Prentiss were standing in the front lobby of Hillside Elementary School.

"Yes?" The woman stood up, her eyes widening. "Can I help you?"

Reid took out his badge and showed it to her. She abruptly sat down at her desk. "I'm Dr. Reid with the FBI, and this is SSA Prentiss and SSA Morgan. May we ask you a few questions?"

"Sure." She motioned for them to sit down, and Spencer did so. Emily and Derek stood in the doorway of her office. "May I ask what this is about?"

Spencer immediately glanced back to his teammates. "Could you give us a minute, Ms. Owens?" He stood, stepping outside. "This isn't right. A severe sociopath with dissociative identity disorder would be bragging about what she's done, not pretending it hasn't happened. She wouldn't be afraid of getting caught because she has nothing to lose."

"Are you saying that this is the wrong suspect?" Morgan furrowed his brow.

"She fits the profile, Reid. There's a stressor and a witness, not to mention-." Prentiss's phone cut her off. She flipped it open. "Talk to me, Garcia." She put the phone on speaker.

"I managed to match the burn pattern on the victims." Her voice was quiet. "Whoever this lady is, you guys have got to find her soon, because this sounds downright painful."

"What are the burns from, Garcia?" Reid spoke up.

"The cigarette lighter of a 2007 Ford Focus." She stated. "It's the only model with this specific pattern."

"A car lighter?" He shook his head, then paused "Did she say a Ford Focus..?" Reid blinked as Prentiss hung the phone up. The cigarette lighter of a Ford Focus. "She framed her. She knew that Rachel fit the profile, and she lead us right to her."

"Who are you talking about?" Emily faced Reid, and Morgan cursed under his breath.

"When Morgan and I were talking, she smelled her cigarette lighter. She was right there." He shook his head. How could he have been so stupid?

"Who, Reid?" Prentiss sighed. Sometimes, it was absolutely impossible to stop him once he started with these assertions.

"Katrina Jenkins." Spencer glanced up. "She was supposed to get a team together to go to Owens's address. Did she?"

"I think she picked up Annabel." Prentiss shook her head, and Reid froze.

The cold feeling in his fingertips spread throughout his entire body. Annabel. He pulled out his phone.

"Aw, Reid, did you miss me so much that you had to call me right back?" Garcia laughed.

"I need everything you have on officer Katrina Jenkins, Garcia. She works at the station as a form of desk clerk." His voice was urgent.

"That's pretty much all I have. Her mother died when she was young, and her primary caregiver was her aunt. She died three months ago." Garcia stated.

"Is there an address?" Prentiss chimed in.

"Sending it to you now." Garcia hit the button and hung the phone up.

"Hotch, Officer Jenkins is the unsub." Derek spoke fervently into his phone. "She's got Annabel."

"Just got the address. Let's go." Reid was out the door in an instant.

"You don't have to do this…" Tears were streaming down Annabel's cheeks. "If you let me go, I can get you a deal, Katrina." Her voice was desperate. "Just please… Please… We can work this out."

Katrina shook her head. "No, Annabel. We can't. Did you know that I'm the only woman on the police force?" She held the cigarette lighter in one hand and a serrated kitchen knife in the other. She pressed the lighter to Annabel's cheek.

Annabel screamed until Katrina pulled the heated metal from her skin. She ran the lighter underneath her nose, smelling the full scent of Annabel's burnt flesh. She sighed with contentment. "Did you know that?"

"No…" Annabel shook her head. She was strapped down to a table in what appeared to be a basement. "I didn't know that." She tried to keep her voice even.

"No one noticed." Katrina ran the jagged blade over Annabel's neck, deep enough to break the skin, but not enough to do any permanent damage. "Everyone only saw you."

"I'll go away." Annabel promised. "I have been planning on leaving anyway. I'll leave, Katrina. Is that what you want?" Her entire body was aching. She had been put through an hour of torture already.

There was a water bottle sitting next to the table, and Katrina lifted it to her lips. "They will be here any moment." She smiled. "They'll never find you." She pulled an unusual device from underneath the table and grinned. "This is my pride and joy."

Annabel resisted the urge to scream as Katrina ran the blade down her arm. "What is it?"

"I have to be up there when they come." She pointed upward. They were definitely in a basement of some sort. "It's a pity, really. I've found that it is so much more enjoyable if you have more time to toy with your victims…" She pressed the piping hot coil of the lighter against Annabel's collarbone. She screamed. "This machine is going to drip water into your lungs. Just a little bit of water every two minutes. You'll be dead in an hour."

"No." Annabel shook her head. "Please, Katrina. You don't have to do this."

"But I do." Katrina explained. "You don't understand." She pressed the lighter to Annabel's shoulder and shivered as she screamed.

Katrina then pulled out an intubation tube, and Annabel gritted her teeth. She couldn't die like this. She closed her eyes. The BAU knew who she was with. They were coming. They were going to save her. Katrina tried to move the tube around Annabel's teeth, but failed. She stuck the lighter to Annabel's thigh, and the urge to scream was almost too much to bear. But Annabel knew that she couldn't scream. She couldn't let Katrina get that tube down her throat. If she did, she was signing her own death warrant. Katrina removed the lighter from Annabel's thigh and pressed it against the back of her knee. She could feel her skin sizzling beneath the weight of the heated metal, but she still bit back her scream. Katrina growled, and pressed the lighter to the bottom of Annabel's foot.

That did it. Annabel screamed out in such unbearable pain, and it was Katrina's golden opportunity. She intubated in thirty seconds and hooked the tube up to the machine.

"It's 1:56 now. You'll be dead by 3:00." Within moments, Katrina was gone, and Annabel was left in the small room. She was alone, and the walls were closing in on her, or so it seemed. She couldn't breathe, but it wasn't the water leaking into her lungs that was suffocating her.

"Where is Annabel Kenner?" David Rossi was staring into Katrina's eyes.

"What time is it, Agent Rossi?" Katrina was relaxed in her chair.

"2:13." David sighed. "Where is Annabel?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about." Katrina shrugged.

David stood and exited the room, slightly surprised that Spencer was hovering around the gallery window.

"She asked you the time three times." Reid was pacing back and forth. "We're on a time limit, Rossi."

"She's not going to talk. We have to figure this out without her." David shook his head.

"I'm going to go back to her house. Maybe I can find something…" Reid didn't even finish his statement before he was gone.

As he drove, he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. This was his fault. If he hadn't sent Katrina back for Annabel… Or if he had noticed her erratic behavior before they had left the last dump site… He shook his head. How could this have happened? For the first time in his life, he could identify with someone, and now she was in danger because of him? It was irony at it's worst. As he pulled into Katrina Jenkins's driveway, he glanced to the clock. 2:31.

He swept the entire house, checking every crease and corner for some sort of secret opening. Nothing. He pulled out his phone and dialed Garcia's number.

"Nothing yet, Reid." She was frivolously typing away at her computer.

"Did you check the floor plans of the house? Or land blueprints? Annabel is here somewhere. Why else would Katrina have been home?" Spencer ran a hand through his hair. It was 2:49.

"Yes. All of the recent ones, and I am downloading the older ones now." She paused. "Here they…" Garcia's tone changed from miserable to hopeful. "Reid, there's a secret entrance to an old slaves quarters disguised as a well in the backyard."

"Thanks, Garcia." Reid rushed out the back door. He found the well with ease, and made his way around it. There was a brick loose in the bottom, and he moved it aside, seeing an opening. He moved all of the bricks quickly, then slipped into the hole. Spencer felt around the edge of the stone wall for a light switch. If Katrina had been performing torture here, there would be a way for her to see in the dark. He found the light switch, flipping it on and taking in the sight before him.

Annabel was lifeless, strapped to a table with a tube down her throat that appeared to be leaking water into her lungs. Spencer was at her side in an instant, pulling the intubation tube from her throat. He unstrapped her, pulling her onto the ground. He checked her pulse. Weak. He covered her nose and pressed his lips to hers, breathing air into her lungs. He then did CPR compressions on her chest. No response.

"Breathe, Annabel…" He begged. "Please breathe…" He pumped her chest again before breathing into her once more. "Annabel, please…"

_**CLIFFHANGER! :O**___


	4. Chapter 4

**_Ack... Sorry for the cliffhanger, guys. But I gotta have at least a small amont of suspense! ANYWAY... This has been my favorite chaptr to write so far. I hope you enjoy! Please R&R... I love to hear from you guys!_**

As if hearing his prayer, Annabel coughed, water spewing from her mouth. Reid automatically rolled her onto her side, breathing a sigh of relief. When she rolled back onto her back, she panicked, jerking away from his grasp and letting out a scream.

"Calm down, Annabel." He held his hands up to show that he was no threat. "It's me… It's Spencer."

Annabel glanced around, remembering where she was. Tears were brimming over in her eyes, and she immediately curled in on herself. "What…?" She paused, burying her face in her knees. "What time is it?"

"3:09." He blinked, watching her carefully. What an odd question to ask. "We have her in custody, in case you were wondering."

"I know you do." Annabel shook her head. "She told me she was going up to meet you." She paused, looking up at him. "Did you know what was happening?"

"Only after we reached the elementary school." Reid nodded.

"That's not what I meant." Annabel moved her gaze to the ground. "I studied Tobias Hankel's case. You were legally dead for two minutes." She tried not to notice how he flinched at her words. "I knew I was going to die. She told me I'd only have an hour. I felt my lungs filling up, I felt the air escaping me, but I couldn't scream. There was no help. I knew I was dying. Did you know what was happening?" There were tears streaming down her cheeks, and she wiped them away furiously.

"I knew." Spencer nodded. He didn't want to talk about this, but he didn't really have a choice. It was yet another thing that they had in common. "It happened so fast, though. One minute, I was getting punched, and the next, Tobias was saving my life." He blinked. "I don't really remember what happened between them."

"I don't remember either." Annabel smiled ruefully. "I don't remember. For the first time in my life, I can say that sentence and it be the truth."

Spencer stood, offering his hand to her.

"Reid?" Hotch's voice floated down the passageway.

"It's all clear down here." Annabel spoke softly, accepting Spencer's hand and getting to her feet.

The room filled with agents rather quickly. Annabel sighed with relief. She was actually safe. She closed her eyes as Spencer explained to them what had happened. She hadn't realized how much pain she was in until she had stood. There was a small pool of blood on the ground at her feet, and the cigarette lighter had burned holes through her clothes. A small sensation pulled her from her aching. Spencer looped his arm around the small of her back and began to lead her outside.

As Annabel stepped into the sunlight, she stopped, taking a deep breath. The warmth of the sun of her face was something small that now seemed so big, something she never thought she would have again. Spencer had given that to her, he had given her life again, he had saved her.

"Are you ok?" When she looked at him, he was staring at her. There were tears running down her face.

"I just… Didn't realize how big the seemingly little things are." She smiled lightly. "The sunlight… It's warmer than I remember."

Reid blinked. "Lets get you to the hospital, Annabel." There was a small smile on his face as he guided her to the ambulance.

A paramedic approached them, pushing a stretcher along in front of him. Spencer helped Annabel onto the gurney, and watched as they strapped her down and loaded her into the ambulance.

"No…" Annabel shook her head. "No, no, no, no, no…" She closed her eyes and tried not to picture the four closed walls of the ambulance suffocating her. She struggled to sit up, but she had been strapped down while the stretcher was being moved. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. "Please…" Her voice was weak, and it made Spencer wince at the agony in her tone.

"Untie her." He spoke up, and Annabel nodded.

"Yes." She could barely breathe. "Please untie me."

The paramedic worked quickly, and she automatically sat up, opening her eyes. Her breathing was labored, and the medic checked her pulse.

"She's having a panic attack." He tried to lay Annabel back down, but she refused.

"Just give me the oxygen mask." She held her hand out. "I can't…" She shook her head. "I can't lay back and stare at the ceiling."

"Morgan, tell Hotch that I'm going in the ambulance with Annabel." Spencer called back before climbing into the ambulance beside her. He took the oxygen mask from the medic and sat on the edge of the stretcher, holding it to Annabel's face. She took deep breaths, clenching her fists around the sheets in her lap.

"You…" She shook her head, taking another breath of oxygen. "You don't have to ride with me."

"The ambulance is already moving." Spencer shrugged. "I don't mind, anyway." He looked her over. Most of her wounds were superficial, but they looked like they were in severe danger of infection. "Can you lay back for me and let me inspect your injuries, Annabel?" He asked the question softly, afraid to ask too much of her.

"Don't…" She pulled the mask from her face to look at him. "Please don't strap me down."

"I won't." He was worried about her. She needed to see a psychiatrist about the sudden claustrophobia. He laid her back and she closed her eyes, her hands gripping his forearm. "I'm here." He assured her, putting a hand on her forehead as he inspected the cut across her throat. There would be a scar, but no arteries or veins had been hit. The other cuts and burns were the same way. He looked over the burn on the bottom of her foot and bit down on his lip, a memory flashing in his mind: He was tied to a wooden chair in the middle of an old building. Tobias Hankel was standing over him, using a flat paddle to slap the bottom of his feet. Spencer screamed as excruciating pain washed over him.

"Spencer?" Annabel grabbed his hand, bringing him back to the ambulance. "Spencer, are you ok?" She had sat up, and was staring at him. His face was white, pure fear carved into his features. He shook his head, his expression sagging.

"I'm ok." His eyes met hers, and they were calm, but there was a presence of deep fear shadowed within them.

Her eyes swept over him carefully. There was something wrong with him. Of course, it was probably Tobias Hankel. Her near death experience probably reminded him a lot of the torture he had gone through. She tried to think of something to say, but his expression was distant, his eyes far away.

"Thank you." Her words brought his gaze back to hers.

"For what?" He was confused, and he thought he might not have heard her correctly. He was concentrating on the warmth of her hand on his. It was enthralling, and it made his entire arm tingle. He didn't think she realized that she was still holding his hand, but the feel of her skin on his was unequivocal.

"You saved my life." Annabel spoke slowly. "I never actually thanked you for that. How rude of me…" Her voice trailed off as her train of thought scattered.

"You don't have to thank me. As cliché as it may sound, I was just doing my job." Spencer closed his eyes. "Do you wanna know a secret?"

"Sure." Annabel nodded, laying back on the bed. Her hand slipped out of his as she fell backward. She hadn't realized how tired she was. She yawned. "Tell me a secret."

"I was terrified." He moved his gaze from hers. "I climbed into a hole in the ground and saw you dead on the table. I untied you and I…" He paused, looking for the correct word. "I willed you to live. I breathed air into your lungs and I… I was terrified that you wouldn't respond. I was terrified that I was too late."

"You weren't." Annabel closed her eyes. "You weren't too late."

The ambulance stopped, and the doors swung open. The stretcher was carried into the hospital, and Spencer walked alongside it. They wheeled her right into her room and began to clean her burns. It was going to be a painful process, one that would take hours. She had thirty six burns dispersed across her body, and twenty seven cuts.

"You should go." Annabel whispered to Spencer as the nurse brought the alcohol soaked cotton ball to her scalded flesh. She winced, inhaling sharply and trying not to scream out. The nurse paused for a moment, allowing her to speak. "You probably have a mountain of paperwork on this case."

The nurse put the cotton swab back to her burned skin, and Annabel squeezed her eyes shut. Spencer instinctively grabbed her hand. "I'm here." He whispered back. "And I'm staying here."

"Tell me a story." Annabel squeezed Spencer's hand as the nurse moved on to the next burn. "Tell me about a case that you worked. Your favorite."

Spencer thought for a moment, then nodded. She needed a distraction. "A few years ago, the team was given a case of a serial kidnapper who took their victims in public low-risk locations under the ruse of a lost child." He squeezed her hand, trying to comfort her. "We knew that there had to be at least three unsubs, based on the nature of the crime. There was a woman, who was the focal point, the distraction. She cried out in the crowd that her child was lost, and diverted the mother of the victim's attention. Then, there was the captor. We knew that he was more than likely romantically involved with the woman, which is why they kidnapped children, because they were unable to have their own kids. This man's job was to grab the victim while the mother was distracted. Then, there was a young adolescent, who we came to find out was a boy named Charlie, who had been the couple's first victim. He had been taken eight years earlier and was raised to be submissive to the couple. His job was to drive the getaway car. We connected the couple to a case that had been investigated by social services. They owned a crematorium." He blinked. "When a child would disobey…" He paused, figuring that Annabel got the picture. "Anyway, we tracked the couple down, and we found the male unsub at their residence. The woman, however, had take the kids to the crematorium to take care of them. The husband hung himself in the bathroom, and by the time our agents reached the crematorium, Charlie had shot the female unsub to protect the two children there. One of them was the recent victim, the other had been taken four years earlier." He watched a small smile creep over Annabel's face.

"Four years?" She asked, wincing as the nurse tended to her wounds. "Four years of being gone and you found her completely unscathed?"

"What's even more remarkable is Charlie. He had been gone for eight years, taught to obey, and to know that insubordination ended with death." Spencer shook his head. "When the time came to sacrifice his sisters, he chose to protect them rather than to hurt them."

"That's lovely." Annabel yawned, not even feeling the nurse's cleaning anymore. She squeezed his hand. "I don't feel it anymore."

"Your sedatives are kicking in." The nurse spoke up for the first time as she wrapped the last of Annabel's injuries. She looked to Spencer. "She'll need to get some rest. Do I need to bring you a cot?"

"You don't have to stay, Spencer…" Annabel could barely make her words out. A fog of drowsiness had rested itself onto her head.

"Do you want me to stay?" He looked at her. Did her answer even matter? _Could_ he leave her if she asked? She hadn't let go of his hand the entire time, and now that the nurse was done, she still held it tightly.

"You don't have to. You have more important things to do than baby-sit me while I'm asleep." She closed her eyes, unable to keep them open much longer.

"Do you want me to stay?" He repeated the question, and her answer was a faint nod.

"I don't want to be alone." She whispered, half asleep.

It was more than enough for Spencer. "I'll take that cot, please." He glanced to the nurse, who nodded and hurried out of the room. He watched her Annabel's face as she slept. Even burned injured, she was beautiful. He watched the way her shoulders slumped each time she took a breath. The way she furrowed her brow every now and then as something unpleasant entered her dreams. He wanted to run his finger along her forehead and smooth away the worry. He wanted to chase away whatever was making her uncomfortable.

"Staying here tonight?" Spencer jumped, Derek's voice pulling him from his thoughts. Agent Morgan was standing in the doorway of the room.

"Yeah." Spencer looked up to him, trying to fight the urge to allow the blood to rush into his cheeks.

"So, you skipped right over asking her out, straight to sleeping with her." Morgan chuckled. "That's my boy."

"I'm not sure this counts as 'sleeping with her.'" Spencer shook his head, a small smile on his face as he blushed, his nerves finally beating out his self control. "Plus, I'm sure these are extenuating circumstances that makes skipping the first date acceptable."

"Either way…" Derek crossed his arms over his chest. "Good work today. You saved her life."

"She thanked me." Spencer sat back in his chair. "She actually thanked me."

"You were her hero today, Reid. Of course she thanked you." Derek was unsure of why he seemed so confused by this.

"She stopped when I took her outside. She told me that the sun on her face was so much more significant that she remembered. I remember feeling that exact way after what happened with Tobias." Spencer saw the way Derek's face changed. "He saved my life, and even though I may have thanked him, how did I repay him? I killed him."

"Kid… Don't be so hard on yourself." Morgan stated. "You're holding hands with a beautiful genius. Savor the moment."

"I don't want to have to leave her, Morgan." Spencer felt relieved to finally say the words out loud. "She understands me, and I… I'm scared that I may never find that again."

"Get some sleep, Reid." Derek sighed, and Spencer nodded, watching as he walked away.

"Please… Please don't…" Annabel whispered, tossing in the bed. "Please?"

Spencer sighed. She was asleep, and she was going to have nightmares all night. Just then, the nurse carried the foldable cot into the room. Spencer stood, slipping his hand from Annabel's and unfolding the cot. He laid down and thanked the nurse. Annabel whimpered in her sleep, so Spencer reached over and took her hand again. She quieted. He closed his eyes, focusing on the warmth radiating between them.

"Annabel?"

Her eyes snapped open. Her breathing was labored, and she was covered in a cold sweat. She glanced up to Spencer, who had been calling her name.

"What's wrong?" She shook her head, as if trying to shake the images of her dream from her mind.

"You were screaming." She sighed heavily at his words, then took a moment to look him over. There were dark circles underneath each of his amber eyes, indicating that he hadn't slept at all last night.

"I kept you up?" Annabel shook her head. "I'm sorry. I knew you shouldn't have stayed. I told you that you didn't have to…"

"Actually, you asked me not to leave. You said you didn't want to be alone." He smiled lightly.

Annabel glanced down at their linked hands and felt the blood rushing to her face. "Did I say that? Out loud?" She pulled her hand from his to cover her face, mortified. "I'm so sorry…"

"You were kind of inebriated, so I didn't think anything of it." Spencer shook his head, only half-lying. The truth was, he had feelings for her.

"Oh." She peeked through her fingers at him. It was an interesting thought, her and Spencer Reid. They knew each other's obstacles, they could have a decent conversation (which was a lot harder to find in Annabel's case than any normal girl), and they understood each other on a level that no one else could. Then, there was the fact that she had obsessed over him and his team before they had arrived. He was a God to her. He was Spencer Reid, the man who had pushed past everything else to make a name for himself despite the hindrance of an eidetic memory. And yes, most of the time, an eidetic memory WAS a hindrance. "I'm sorry." She folded her hands in her lap.

"Every statement out of your mouth has had an apology in it." He smiled, then looked her over. She looked better than she had yesterday, but he could tell that she hadn't had a restful sleep. "Why don't you lay back down and get some rest?"

"You're going to be leaving soon." She blinked. "Back to Virginia, right?"

Spencer sighed. "Yeah, but there will be plenty of people here to take care of you."

"When is your plane leaving?" Annabel moved her gaze from him. She didn't want him to go, but she knew he had to. He had a job to do, a job that she would hopefully be doing before long. The thought reminded her of something. "And can you do me a favor?"

"This afternoon. And I'll do whatever you need." Spencer stated.

"Will you ask Agent Hotchner if he'll write me a letter of recommendation?" Her words were quiet, but she knew he would be able to hear her.

"Oh…" Spencer was slightly taken aback. "I'm sure he will be honored to write you a letter." He paused for a moment. "Why Hotch? I could write you a letter…"

Annabel smiled. "I'm sure you would write a brilliant letter, Spencer, but there's a specific reason I want Agent Hotchner to write the letter, and there's a specific reason I'm not sure I want you to write one."

"Oh?" He tilted his head to the side. What reasoning could she possibly have to not want him to write her a letter?

"I want Agent Hotchner to write it because he's the leader of your team." She looked to the bed sheet that was wadded up in her lap. She twisted the fabric in her hands. "And I don't want you to write one because…" She closed her eyes. How could she put it into words? She had messed up. She had allowed her reliance to get the better of her instincts. "You've seen me when I'm vulnerable. I can't have you recommending me when you've seen me at my weakest. It would feel like… Like I've cheated."

Reid hadn't even considered this. Her logic was preposterous. "Annabel… I…" He shook his head. She had rendered him speechless.

"It's ok." She smiled at him, and it took all of his will power not to linger on the way it made her jade eyes dance. "Now…" She looked back down to the tangled blanket in her lap. "You should probably go. Planes to catch, murderers to decipher."

The look in his eyes was that of pure torture. He didn't want to leave her, not like this. "You're right." He whispered.

"I usually am." Her smile faltered, but her resolve stuck.

Spencer stood from the chair he had been sitting in. He approached her hospital bed, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Reid." Annabel held her hand out to him, but he ignored it. He hesitantly lifted his hand to her forehead, using the tips of his fingers to brush a crimson curl from her face. She closed her eyes as his fingertips grazed across her forehead and down her cheekbone.

"Call me Spencer." He whispered, removing his hand from her face. "Always call me Spencer."

Annabel was frozen. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she could barely breathe. What the hell had just happened? She couldn't even speak, so she merely answered him with a nod, her eyes never leaving his.

"Goodbye, Annabel." He gave her a brief smile, then turned away from her. What had he been thinking? His hand had moved without his consent, longing to shape itself against the side of her face. It was difficult to pull his hand away, to stop himself from moving closer to her than he already was. A thousand different images skated across his mind in that instant, a thousand different ways to caress her.

He scolded himself as he walked swiftly away, almost running from the temptation. Annabel Kenner would be the downfall of Spencer Reid.

_**Completely random: I'm watching the season 6 opener on tv right now. And GOSH... That guy gives me the heebiedabageebies.**_

_**CREEPY!**_

_**ANYWAY... Please R&R. I love you guys!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**_AN: Ok... So, I had to skip ahead a little bit. This is a fairly short chapter, and I apologize for that. I hope you don't hate me._**

**_._**

**_._**

**_ANYWAYS... I'm seriously thinking about doing a piece that takes place throughout the entire series, starting with the first episode, "Extreme Agressor." Of course, it WILL be Reid-centric... How could it NOT be? Just kind of going through the entire series in Reid point of view. I might add a little bit of a love intrest. Idk. The plot fairies are refusing to leave me alone! -swats them-_**

**_Meh. Anywho, I hope you likey this. Feel free to review with questions, comments, or suggestions. (:_**

"Hey, Kid." When Spencer looked up, Derek was staring at him, a concerned expression on his face. "You ok?"

"Yeah." Reid shook his head in response. "My mind is just… Somewhere else."

"Let's do this, then." Morgan stepped into Reid's cubicle, a folder in his hand. "You'll help me with this? It's just a standard case of profile delivery." He sat the folder on the desk.

Spencer picked up the file, shuffling through the photos.

"They're more than likely a random killings. We know so far that his preferred type is male, somewhat athletic, social climbers." Derek stated.

"It's about power." Spencer spoke up. "He's done a great deal to make sure that his victims are noticeably overpowered. He doesn't want us to think he is weak. Because of the way the murders are carried out, I would say that he's killed before. He pays immaculate attention to detail." He shook his head, causing his long brown curls to go into a frenzy, his amber eyes scanning the papers in front of him.

"There's obviously a sexual attraction to these men…" Derek stated. "He sodomized and tortured them."

"Maybe a homosexual who is debased solely because of his sexual orientation?" Reid blinked as he spoke.

"He has a job that is demeaning." Morgan shook his head. "Maybe as a secretary or a nurse. It's a job that is typically associated with women."

"You're looking for a white male in his late twenties. He has a rather large build, significant enough to overpower his victims." Spencer spoke again.

Derek stood. "Thanks, kid."

"Anytime." Reid forced a small smile.

"Hey… Do you want to talk about it?" Morgan sat back down, his eyes analyzing Reid. He looked tired, haggard.

Spencer shook his head. "I've been having this dream." He closed his eyes and pictured the tiny room. There was no escape. He was suffocating. "It's been three years, and I can't stop having this dream."

"Tobias?" Derek knew what he was talking about.

Spencer nodded, his eyes still closed.

"Tell me what happens in this dream." Derek was filled with worry. Reid had been battling against the memory of Tobias Hankel for the past three years.

"I'm in the room, the building…" Spencer flinched at the images flashing in his head. "It used to be me strapped to the chair, me going through the torture. I could feel it, Morgan…" He was slightly embarrassed by the whimper that escaped him at the vividness of the memories.

"Used to be?" Derek watched his colleague. It was so hard for him to see his friend, his brother, go through something to detrimentally scarring.

"The new dream… The one that haunts me now, it's the same. Only, I'm not strapped to the chair. It's her." His face crumpled as the dream flashed before his eyes. "Annabel."

Derek furrowed his brow. Annabel?

"She's crying. There's a tube in her throat, drowning her, and I want to help her, but I can't move. I'm stuck, weighed down in one place, unable to get to her. I'm watching her die." He shook his head, reopening his eyes to glance up at Morgan. There was fear in his eyes, and although Spencer tried to keep it unnoticed, tears had started to fill them. He took a breath, regaining his composure. "I can't save her."

"Reid, have you spoken to Annabel since we left Alabama?" Morgan asked.

"No. I wanted to, but I didn't…" He paused. "I didn't think it would be a good idea since she asked Hotch for a letter of recommendation."

"I think you should call her. I mean, it's been almost a year since we left Alabama, and she's showing up in your dreams all of a sudden?" Derek shrugged, standing back up. "You're obviously thinking of her on a deeper level than you think."

Spencer didn't reply. How could he tell Morgan that Annabel invading his thoughts wasn't a sudden thing? It had happened everyday since they had left Alabama. 326 days of agonizing contemplation. He sighed as Derek walked away. Reid stood, moving around the office. He turned off the desk lamp and glanced at his watch. 2:17 am. He yawned, but the sound of the front door opening jarred him. He glanced up, wondering who would be coming into the office this early.

She stopped in her tracks.

"Spencer?" Annabel was grinning when he looked at her. He froze. "What are you doing here so late? I didn't think anyone was going to be here…"

"Are you…?" Spencer shook his head. Her voice was music to his ears, but it didn't seem possible for her to be standing in front of him. "Are you actually here, or am I hallucinating?"

"I'm here, Spencer." Annabel set the box she was carrying on the edge of the desk in front of her, not even bothering to see whose it was. The smile on her face never faltered. "I'm actually here, and it's because of you. Chief Strauss let me read all of the recommendation letters I got."

Spencer moved his gaze to the floor. Oops.

"You wrote me a letter. A letter as exceptional as I would expect, if not more. 'Annabel Kenner is the most intelligent woman I have had the pleasure of working with. Adding her to your team would mean adding an asset more eloquent than the greatest geniuses of our time.'" She spoke the words he had written verbatim as she approached him. They were just inches away from each other now. "Spencer… I don't know what to say. I would thank you, but that doesn't even begin to express my gratitude."

"It's not like I lied." He shook his head. "Annabel…" He paused. Did she notice how his lips wrapped around her name like a caress? "I just told the truth."

"Thank you nonetheless." She stifled a yawn and threw a red curl over her shoulder. Her hair was longer than the last time he had seen her, and there was a spiral-shaped scar underneath her left eye, but she was still just as beautiful, her emerald eyes dancing playfully.

"Why are you here so early?" He asked, moving around her to lift her box from Morgan's desk.

"I wanted to get my desk set up perfectly before anyone else came in." She smiled. "Agent Hotchner told me that there's a strict rule on inter-team profiling, but I didn't think it would stop them from checking it out. My father always told me that prior preparation prevents poor performance."

Spencer smiled. She was here, right in front of him. It was almost too enthralling to believe. "Can I help?"

"Aren't you tired?" Annabel looked him over. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days. "When's the last time you've gotten some rest?"

Spencer thought the question over. He had slept two nights ago, but he wasn't sure that's what she was asking. When's the last time he had truly rested? 327 days ago. He sighed, and answered in a way that wouldn't give the truth entirely.

"A while." He looked at her, still in a small amount of shock for her actually being right in front of him. "It doesn't matter, though. I want to help."

"I'm not sure how much help you'll be if you're falling asleep on me, Spencer." She put a hand on his cheek and he stopped, completely paralyzed. "Just put the box on my desk, and go home, ok? I'll see you after you get some sleep."

He nodded. How could he argue with her if he couldn't speak? He followed her to her cubicle and set the box down lightly. She moved around him and began taking knick-knacks out of the box. He picked one up. It was a small plaque with a poem etched into it. He grinned.

"Alone." He spoke the word slowly. It was his absolute favorite poem. In Spencer's opinion, Edgar Allen Poe had outdone himself with this particular piece. "I would expect nothing less."

"It's my favorite." She whispered, pulling the small tablet from his hands. "Now, stop stalling. I'll be here when you come in for work in…" She glanced to her watch. "Five hours, twenty six minutes, and seventeen, sixteen, fifteen…" She looked up at him. "Now, go."

Spencer nodded, resisting the urge to recreate the incident in the hospital just before he had left. The only thing that held his hand back from her was knowing that this wasn't goodbye. He would see her again in five hours, twenty five minutes, and forty three seconds. He smiled lightly before turning to walk away. His body moved stiffly, as if it was unwilling to be away from her.

Annabel watched after him, her heart slowing finally. She hadn't expected him to be here, and she sure as hell hadn't expected her reaction to him. The moment she saw him, her breathing had quickened, making words nearly impossible. She sat down in her desk, replaying the conversation in her head.

_Are you actually here, or am I hallucinating?_

Annabel grinned. Having to ask a question like that meant that he had to have been thinking of her before she had arrived. _He had been thinking of her. _She wondered if it had been nearly as much as she had been thinking of him. Probably not. She couldn't even recall how many times she had replayed the scene in the hospital, the feel of his fingertips on her skin, the sound of his voice when he said her name, the way his eyes told so much more than his expression ever could. Well, maybe she could recall how many times. 7,943... Well, 7,944, counting when she had done it just now. That's an average of 24.37 times a day. She blinked as the numbers swirled in her head. That's once an hour. A sigh escaped her lips. This would be the longest five hours she would ever have to face.

_**AW! They love each other! (:**_

**_Sorry... I have been binging on Mumford & Sons and youtube... So am really random and in a fairly good mood. _**

**_ A duck walked up to a lemonade stand, and he said to the man running the stand, "Hey!" (Bum, bum, bum) "Got any grapes?" _**

**_I am going to Atlanta in the morning... I'm excited. I mean, it's not like I haven't been to Atlanta before, but these circumstances! They are just... vbirogwbvkyulcbrkuwagbcnlaie! EEP! Ok. Just cross your fingers or say a prayer for me or whatever you do in your specified religion. And on a completely different note, I will try my best to get these updates more... Regular? Is that the word I'm looking for? Stable? I don't think so. Wait... -goes to look at thesaurus.- _**

**Consistent, ordered, organized, patterned, periodical, punctual, recurrent, regulated, routine, standardized, systematic.**

**THOSE are the words I was looking for. (: Okies. I have wasted enough of your time with my random.**

**Peace and beans,**

**-KyaAlyce **


	6. Chapter 6

"Morgan!" Spencer rushed across the parking lot to meet him. "You'll never guess what happened last night after you left."

Derek looked him over. "Did you even sleep?"

"I got about a half hour's worth. That doesn't matter, though. Approximately thirty seven minutes and twenty six seconds after you left, Annabel came in." Spencer stopped walking, pulling Derek to a halt.

"Annabel? Came into the office? Reid, sleep deprivation is unhealthy. You're already hallucinating." Morgan's expression was worried.

"But I wasn't hallucinating!" Spencer was shaking his head, and throwing his hands into the air to stress the gravity of the situation. "Regrettably, I actually asked her if I was… And she said I wasn't. She was really there, Morgan… She's starting her job today."

"Why was she there at 2:00 in the morning?" Derek raised a brow. "You didn't…?"

"No!" Spencer turned away from him, continuing across the parking lot. "Do you think I'm looking to get kicked off the team? There are some very clear fraternization rules in the bureau."

"I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have even considered that you would…" His voice trailed off. "Sorry."

Spencer shook his head. "I'm not upset with you. I'm just… frustrated with the situation. And then… There's the part of me that's so impassioned that I can barely see straight. How am I supposed to work with her in the room?"

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you wrote her that kick ass recommendation letter?" Derek clapped a hand on Reid's back. "If you need anything, just let me know."

"Thanks, Morgan." Spencer offered him a tired smile.

"No problem, kid." Derek smiled before walking into the building, nearly running someone over.

"Sorry!" Annabel bent to pick up the empty box she had dropped.

"My fault." Morgan smiled, offering his hand to her. "Welcome to the BAU. It's good to see you again, Annabel." He paused, correcting himself. "Agent Kenner."

"I'm going to have to get used to that." She smiled back at him, accepting his hand. "It's a pleasure to be here, Agent Morgan." She looked to Reid as Derek walked away from the two of them. "You don't look like you got much sleep."

"I didn't." He shrugged. "Looks like you got everything set up." He glanced over at her desk. It was organized and meticulous. Exactly like his.

"It's perfect." She grinned. "As it well should be. I've dreamed of having that desk for the past twelve years."

"Does it live up to your expectations?" Spencer asked.

"And then some." She spotted Agent Hotchner from across the room. He motioned toward the conference room.

"We've got a case." Spencer's expression was unreadable. He glanced over her. She was tangling her fingers together nervously. "Calm down. Everything will be ok."

"What if they don't like me?" Her voice was helpless. It made Spencer want to hold her.

"They've already met you, Annabel." He paused. "Agent Kenner, I mean."

"No." She shook her head. "If I can 'always call you Spencer', you can always call me Annabel."

"Annabel." He nodded, trying not to reminisce on the time he had told her that. It would cause other thoughts to invade his mind, thoughts he didn't need to be having at work. Or at all, for that matter.

"Any advice?" They stopped right outside the conference room.

"They smell fear…" Derek walked past them into the room.

"Advice?" Spencer smiled. "Don't listen to Morgan."

"Dually noted." She nodded as they both entered the room.

"Everyone, I'm sure you remember Agent Annabel Kenner from the case we had in Alabama about a year ago." Aaron Hotchner spoke up from the head of the table. He was answered with nods around the table. "It's a pleasure to have you with us, Agent Kenner." He spoke directly to Annabel this time.

"It's an honor to be sitting at this table, Agent Hotchner." She smiled lightly.

"You're part of my team now, Kenner." Aaron spoke seriously. "You'll call me Hotch."

Annabel nodded as JJ stood. "Hollywood, California." A picture appeared on the PowerPoint screen in front of the room. The girl was pretty with straight blonde hair and eyes the color of the sky.

"Tara Michaels was abducted from her home three days ago." Another two pictures appeared. "Amber Flemming was taken two days ago, and yesterday, Jessica Ambrose was abducted. There were signs of a struggle in each home, also a note written in each victim's handwriting that reads: "You must bring him to me please. I am inconsolable without him here. You have three days before her life ends."

"Interesting…" Spencer looked the letter over. "Maybe the unsub is talking about a child that was taken from him?"

"This morning, Tara Michaels's body was found on the side of the road." JJ continued. Annabel was going through the folder in front of her.

"Is there any sign of sexual assault?" She spoke up.

"No." JJ answered.

"If he's taking one victim a day, then he's probably out hunting now." Annabel glanced up from the autopsy report to hear what Derek had said.

"I think the unsub might be a female." Annabel spoke up again, meeting the eyes of everyone in the room. Of course they would be puzzled. It had been the first argument she had made in Alabama.

"I was about to say the same thing." Spencer agreed. "There's no sexual motive and a severe lack of masochism. The cause of death is a single gunshot to the head, execution style. The body is dumped with her hair brushed back and positioned in a way that suggests remorse."

"Well, we need to get cracking on possible unsubs, and who the 'he' is that we must bring to her." Hotch stood. "Wheels up in ten."


	7. Chapter 7

"That was quick thinking in there." David Rossi was sitting across Annabel on the plane. "It's unusual for someone to be on the same wavelength as Reid. It should be interesting working with both of you."

"Thank you, Agent Rossi." She smiled up at him.

"You might want to get some sleep." Spencer was sitting next to her. "We tend to hit the ground running, and it can be exhausting if you haven't gotten any rest."

"Speaking from experience? You look like you haven't slept in days." The expression she gave him was only slightly condescending. It made his heart race. There was no way he could explain to her that _she_ was the reason he hadn't been sleeping. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her reaching toward him, calling for his help. He was immobilized. There was nothing he could do to help her.

"I happen to know for a fact that you didn't sleep last night, Annabel." Spencer eyed her. "Go lay down. I'll wake you before we land."

She sighed. "Ok, ok…" She stood and moved across the jet to a more comfortable seat.

David was staring at Spencer.

"What?" He asked finally.

"You happen to know for a fact that she didn't sleep last night?" David was grinning.

"No!" Spencer shook his head. "Why does everybody automatically think that means..?" He sighed. "I was up late finishing my reports. She came into the office early this morning."

"You owe me no explanation, kid." Rossi chuckled. "Just remember that we have rules to abide by."

"I remember everything." Spencer laid his head back and closed his eyes.

It was too much. Way too much. He didn't even realize what was going on. His body had been plunged into sensory overload. It was entirely too much. He could see her. She was staring at him. He could feel her eyes on him, and it made his breathing quicken. She was touching his face, running her fingers through his hair, pressing her lips to his jaw line. Her fingertips traced a line down his chest, and suddenly, he was on fire. He moved to wrap his arms around her, but he couldn't move. Annabel. She was everywhere, she was everything. He watched as she moved even closer, as if it were even possible for her to get closer than she already was. Her lips were so close to his… Inches, centimeters. He braced himself, knowing that in just moments, her lips would be on his. It would be like the first breath of air after being held underwater. It was something he had waited so long to feel. Her fingers tangled into his hair, and he closed his eyes.

"Spencer…" She whispered his name. It was too much. Her lips were so close that he could feel her breath on his face. He readied himself, his heart pounding so hard in his chest that he worried it might push her away from him. He took a deep breath.

"Spencer?" Annabel shook him. "Spencer, wake up."

"What's happening?" He jolted awake, glancing around. She was standing in front of him.

"Even though you promised you wake me up when the jet landed, I'm glad you got some rest." She smiled, trying to identify the way he was looking at her. Hungry? Passionate? It made her heart race, and when she finally spoke, her voice was uneven. "We're in California."

"I'm sorry…" He rubbed his eyes and stood up. "Has Hotch given assignments?"

"You and I are gonna head to the station and look over victimology. Prentiss and Rossi are going to the victim's houses, and Hotch and Morgan are going to the dump site." She walked alongside him. "Are you ok? Did you actually get a restful sleep in?"

The expression that crossed his face was almost comical. "I've been having these nightmares." He confessed. "It makes it hard to sleep."

"You didn't look like you were having a nightmare on the jet, Spencer." She looked at him skeptically. "You were smiling. Widely, if I may add."

"No, I…" He paused, and Annabel noticed the slightest pink color in his cheeks. It was endearing. "I was actually resting on the jet."

"What do you dream about?" She lead him across the parking lot to a black SUV. He paused, the red in his cheeks darkening. He turned his face from hers.

"What do you mean?" He asked. His voice was a little more high pitched than he wanted it to be, but why would she ask a question like that without knowing the answer?

"Your nightmares, Spencer. What are they about?" She looked at him as they climbed into the car. He looked nervous. She wondered if he dreamt about the same things she did. Torture, pain, agony.

"Tobias Hankel." He stated. It wasn't necessarily a lie. The building Annabel was screaming in had been the same building Tobias had used to torture him in.

Annabel looked down as she cranked the SUV. "I've been having dreams like that, too." She shivered. "I mean… I know that she can't touch me anymore, but the feeling of complete helplessness… I can't shake it." She backed out of the parking space. "I had never felt such desperation until Katrina Jenkins showed it to me." She glanced over at him. "It's been three years since the Hankel case. Does that feeling of completely powerlessness ever go away?"

"I think about Tobias everyday." Spencer shook his head. "There are similarities to what happened to us, but there are key differences, too. Katrina Jenkins was a homicidal maniac, and she's never going to get out of jail. You don't have to feel any guilt about her because she deserves everything she's gotten. You deserve peace, Annabel."

"And you don't?" She spared him a glance but ultimately kept her eyes on the road.

"Tobias Hankel didn't torture me, or hurt me. He had gone through so much abuse by the hands of his father, and he had all of Charles Hankel's beliefs inside him. When Charles asked Tobias to kill him, he snapped in two, split by the belief that murder is wrong in the eyes of God, and the commandment to honor thy father. In the end, Charles won. When Tobias did his father's bidding, he split even more. On one hand, he was Tobias, and on the other, he was Charles, or at least he had Charles's personality inside him because he couldn't deal with the death of his father. Then, there was Raphael, who surfaced as a mediator between the two. Raphael believed that he was doing God's will. The only torture he put me through was the Russian Roulette. Then, there was Charles, who killed me. He beat me and hurt me. And Tobias… He was just scared." Spencer shook his head. "Tobias Hankel saved my life. He performed CPR after I had been dead two minutes, and he saved me. I killed him. He saved my life, and I killed him."

"You had to, Spencer." Annabel pulled into the parking lot of the police station. "You didn't have a choice. He was going to kill you."

"Charles was going to kill me. Tobias was the only person I could trust in that dark place. I killed him." He kept his eyes from her.

"Spencer, look at me…" She reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. He was wearing a jacket, so there was no actual skin-on-skin contact, but when he looked at her, his heart was in his throat. "If you hadn't killed Tobias Hankel, you would have died. Do you know what that means? That means that you wouldn't have been at Katrina Jenkins's house that day, and you wouldn't have found me, and I would have died because no one would have come for me."

"Annabel…" He shook his head.

"Shh." She put a finger over his lips and he froze. "You just think about it, Spencer. And while you're thinking about it, we're going to walk into this building and catch the bitch who is abducting these women."

He nodded, hopping out of the car. Once they were in the police station, an officer rushed to them.

"You're FBI?" He asked. He was tall and lanky with messy blonde hair, probably in his late thirties.

"I'm Agent Kenner, this is Dr. Reid." She spoke quickly. "Is something wrong?"

"We just got another abduction called in." He shook his head. "I'm Sherriff Knowles. Thank you for coming. I'm about to head over to the Archer place right now, if you want to ride?"

Annabel looked to Spencer, who nodded quickly.

"Do you have paperwork on the new victim?" Annabel inquired as she followed him outside. The officer handed her a manila envelope. She handed it to Spencer as they both climbed into the SUV, pulling out behind the police car.

"Oh God!" Spencer dropped the folder into the floorboard.

"What's wrong?" Annabel glanced to him nervously.

"Lila Archer." His voice was uneven. How could this be happening?


	8. Chapter 8

"The victim? What about her?" Annabel kept looking at him, still trying to focus on the road.

"I know her." He blinked. In fact, Spencer knew Lila rather well. She had been the object of a stalker's obsession a few years ago, and in a brief lapse of judgment, Spencer had made out with her in a swimming pool. She had given him his first kiss, and it had taken a while for him to be able to close his eyes and not see her face.

He knows her? Annabel tried her hardest to keep her curiosity off of her face. She wanted to know how Spencer knew Lila Archer, how they had met, what they had talked about, and if he had said her name the way he said Annabel's. Instead of asking all of these vaguely inappropriate questions, she went through the list of cases the BAU had solved in California in her head. She remembered something. Lila Archer was a TV star who had suffered the drama of an obsessive stalker. This also reminded her of the tabloid papers she had seen of Lila hugging someone who was then deemed her "secret lover". Someone tall and lanky with dark brown curls. Someone who looked exactly like Spencer Reid.

Annabel's heart sank.

"I remember reading about that case." Was all she said as they pulled into Lila's driveway. Her house was enormous. Annabel's stomach flipped over.

"Yeah…" Spencer was uncomfortable. He had hopelessly desperate feelings for Annabel, but talking to her about Lila was difficult.

"So, we have a female who is abducting other females under the precedence that we have someone she wants." Annabel chewed on her lip as the walked into Lila's house.

Spencer stopped by the door frame. "No sign of forced entry, so she either knew the unsub or she let her in by gunpoint. Which is odd…"

"There's forced entry in the case of every other victim." Annabel finished his thought.

"This letter…" Spencer pulled the piece of evidence from the envelope and handed it to her. "It's peculiar."

"I agree." She looked it over. "The handwriting is perfectly neat, and there are no tear stains or smudges on the paper."

"But what does it mean?" Spencer asked.

"That she definitely knew the unsub." Annabel answered, furrowing her brow. Something was off.

"You must bring him to me please. I am inconsolable without him here. You have three days before her life ends." Spencer read the note aloud. "Who is she talking about? A child?"

"No. She's talking about a lover." Annabel shook her head.

"How do you know?" Spencer looked at her.

"She wants us to bring him to her. In order to do that, she wants us to figure out where she is." Annabel looked around. "There's a clue here somewhere…" She stopped. "Whoever she wants, she knows that she won't be getting out alive unless she relinquishes him back to us. She won't do that, so she's planning on killing him, too. She would never be able to kill her own child just for spite. That's why it has to be a lover."

"I never would have come to that logic." Spencer shook his head. "You're just amazing…" His voice trailed off and his eyes were full of awe. Annabel looked to the ground, her cheeks turning scarlet. He cleared his throat. "At this job, I mean…" What the hell was wrong with him?

"Thank you." Annabel nodded. "Now, let's look around here for some sort of clue. She's taken the victims somewhere."

Spencer sighed, turning full circle. There was something in front of him, right in front of him, that could tell him where Lila was, where the unsub is keeping these victims. When his eyes fell back on Annabel, she was staring blankly at the note in her hand.

"Something wrong?" He asked, moving his eyes back around the room.

"The wording in this note." Annabel shook her head. "It's not wrong…" She sighed. "It's too perfect. She chose every word with the utmost precision. But why? Why say that she's inconsolable? Why say 'please' if she knows that she wasn't going to give us much choice in the matter?"

"Maybe she had a strict upbringing?" He noticed something hanging on the refrigerator and moved closer to inspect it. "I know where she's taking them."

"What?" Annabel moved to stand next to him, and he tried not to notice how her proximity made his heart quicken. "What do you mean, you know where she's taking them?"

"Look." He pulled a magnet off of the refrigerator. It was the only magnet stuck to the stainless steel appliance. On the magnet was an advertisement for a storage warehouse. "She's keeping them here."

"How do you know that's not just a magnet on her refrigerator?" Annabel looked at him skeptically.

"Lila doesn't use refrigerator magnets." Spencer stated simply, refusing to meet Annabel's questioning gaze.

"How do you know that?" She tried to keep the suspicion out of her voice.

"She mentioned it in a conversation we had when I was working her case." He moved away from the refrigerator and into the study, pointing across from her computer desk to a bulletin board. "She said that magnets were the modern way of replacing bulletin boards, and a way to air all of your interests and appointments in the open where everyone can see. She said that if someone wanted to know everything about her, it would be more difficult for them to come into her study unnoticed than to walk through her kitchen." There was a small fond smile on his face.

"Smart girl." Annabel couldn't hide the resentment in her tone. Spencer glanced to her, an obvious question in his eyes, but she ignored him, pulling out her cell phone and dialing Hotch's number.

"Yes?" Agent Hotchner answered his phone.

"Bingham Storage warehouses. It's where she's taking the victims." Annabel spoke fervently into the phone. "And the 'he' she's asking for is her lover."

"I'll get Garcia on it. Don't move in until we figure out who she wants." Hotch's voice was quiet. "How's Reid?"

Annabel glanced to him nonchalantly, then moved out of the room. "He seems fine. Why?"

"He and the last victim were…" He paused, "Personally involved." The words made Annabel nauseous. "I don't want him getting too hindered in this. It could cloud his judgment."

"I'll keep an eye on him." She stated as Spencer walked out of the study. "Let me know when Garcia finds something."

"He's asked you to keep an eye on me?" He was looking at her with a raised brow. Although the current situation was less than perfect, the way his eyes swept over her made her blood race. What was wrong with her?

"He's just worried about you." She spoke hesitantly. "You know… because…" She paused. "You know." Annabel shook her head. "Garcia is looking up anyone who fits the profile with connections to the warehouse."

"I kissed her." Spencer sighed. "Actually, she kissed me first, but I… I didn't fight back. We… We kissed. My first one."

"Why are you telling me this, Spencer?" Annabel shook her head. She didn't want to hear anymore. Was it some form of cruel torture he was trying to put her through?

"I…" He blinked. "I don't know why, but I feel like I owe you an explanation."

"Why would you..?" She paused, then closed her eyes. Why was he so brilliant? Why was she so attuned to him? What was this… Complex labyrinth of combustion that has so dramatically placed itself between them? "You feel the need to explain yourself to me, Spencer… Why?"

"I don't know." Spencer shook his head. "I don't know what's going on." And he didn't. There was so much going through his head at the moment.

"Spencer…" Annabel moved toward him and he could feel his breathing quicken. She placed a hand on his cheek, and he couldn't help but be reminded of the dream he had on the jet. He closed his eyes. No dream could have foretold how intoxicating it was to feel her fingertips on his skin. He had not been prepared for this.


End file.
